The Bytown Mechanics' Institute is an Upper Canada example of a knowledge transfer organization aimed at encouraging grassroots participation. These institutions were Victorian and moralistic in tone and class-oriented in structure which, in part, explains their failure. However, they show the tendency towards democratic institutions in the early history of Canada where the border between the United States and Canada was more fluid than in the present era and encourage such ideals.^{[clarification needed]} These institutions attempted to include the working class, French Canadians and women, where the British social model did not support these inclusions. The composition of the executive of the Bytown Mechanics' Institute in its various formations illustrates this and exemplifies the issues of cost and available leisure time that would eventually cause the institute's failure.^[2]

In the 1830s, newsrooms were beginning to open in Bytown, Upper Canada. Newsrooms were spaces where reading materials, especially newspapers, were made available presumably to those who subscribed and paid for the materials. Newsrooms were set up in the British Hotel in Upper Town and another in McArthur's Hotel in Lower Town.^[3] The longevity of these organizations was influenced by the long hours of the working class.

In 1845, clerks in Bytown organized The Mercantile Library Association. This association appears to have been an extension of the Upper Town newsroom as both were housed in the British Hotel.^[4]

The lifespan of the BMI was relatively short, and the institute does not appear to have merged with any other organizations. The timelines of the BMIA, the Ottawa Natural History Society and the Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society are blended as three naturally related organizations.^[1]

• Bytown Mechanics' Institute — 1847–1849
• Bytown Mechanics' Institute and Athenaeum — 1853–1869
• Ottawa Natural History Society — 1863–1869
• Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society — 1869 – c. 1907

Lord Elgin opened the first BMIA exhibition held in the West Ward Town Hall on July 28, 1853. The exhibition was primarily a local affair. On display were:

• • tweeds from Thomas McKay's factory
• • window blinds from Currier, Dickenson and Company
• • hemp from Hull-grown flax
• • a fine set of false teeth from a local dentist.^[3]

Lectures were considered a staple of the Mechanics' Institute. Improving the mind of the common man was the ultimate goal of the Mechanics' Institute.^[5] The following is a sample of lectures made available through the BMIA. Although never intended for them, women attended the lectures in significant numbers.^[1]

Membership in the BMI had been based almost solely on high social status although the membership was intended to be working class status. While the BMIA was not immune to this type of social patronage in its executive, it did allow women membership and some limited democratic involvement in the executive. The democratic nature of the executive could be seen in the inclusion of Roman Catholics.^[6] This type of inclusion was not common across Upper Canada or, later, the province of Ontario and it speaks to the numbers of Irish immigrants and the relatively large francophone population in the area as a whole.

• Libraries & the Cultural Record
• Bytown
• Ottawa Public Library